monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus of
salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...
s in the family
Plethodontidae
Plethodontidae, or lungless salamanders, are a family of salamanders. Most species are native to the Western Hemisphere, from British Columbia to Brazil, although a few species are found in Sardinia, Europe south of the Alps, and South Korea. In ...
. it is represented by the species ''Bradytriton silus'', commonly known as the Finca Chiblac salamander, and has been considered the
sister taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
of the genus ''
Oedipina
''Oedipina'' is a genus of lungless salamander
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the ...
''. It is found in north-western
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
and in
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
, south-eastern Mexico.
Description
Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The body is stocky. The head is relatively broad and essentially continuous with the body. The tail is short and laterally compressed, appearing stout when viewed from the side. The limbs are short and slender with diminutive digits that are, apart from their tips, fused together. Dorsal coloration is reddish brown. The head is mostly black and there are black flecks on the anterior part of the body. The cheeks, sides of the tail, and lower flanks are black with dense white flecks.
Habitat and conservation
In north-western Guatemala, ''Bradytriton silus'' is known from both disturbed and undisturbed wet forest at an elevation of about
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Specimens were found under pieces of wood and logs. Development is presumably direct (i.e., no free-living larval stage) and not dependent on water.
The area of the type locality is subject to severe
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
caused by the settlement of refugees and expanding agriculture; the species has not been recorded there after 1976, despite later searches. However, another population was reported from Chiapas, Mexico in 2015.